As Christmas nears, many Canadians' thoughts are turned to visiting relatives to enjoy together the Birth of Christ. All across this vast country - from sea to sea to sea to 49th - people's plans are to travel via whichever mode is most appropriate. Some will travel relatively short distances while others will cross the land from east/west or west/east, from north/south or south/north and take the better part of a day. Some, even, will take several days to make their journey. What does this say to and about Canada and Canadians? First, it tells us that Canada is a country of great size and that to travel from one distant spot to another distant spot does take time, sometimes a lot of time. Second, for Canadians it tells us that deep down inside each of us, there is a longing to share the Joy of Christmas with family.
That said, we now turn our attention to the silliness that seems to be rampant throughout the land foisted by the politically correct non-Christian grinches who want to neuter our country and sever it from its Christian heritage. History has recorded that when the first Europeans stepped ashore they brought with them Christianity. I realize that there are some among us who will consider that last sentence as a slight on the Indians, Eskimos and Inuit; however, it is not that but a fact of history. Eventually, when the Fathers of Confederation gathered first in Charlottetown then in Quebec and finally in London, England to put the finishing touches on what became the British North America Act, they did so as Christians. The laws of the land are based on Christian doctrine with a nodding acquaintance to the Old Testament.
Over the years, particularly since the mid-60s, Canada has bent over backwards to be seen worldwide as a multi-cultural society. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with that. The problems arise, however, when some among us push hard to change Canada into a non-Christian country. Talk among the populace seems to be that Canadians welcome others from abroad and accept that they will bring their culture and religion with them. The argument comes when some zealous grinches work overtime to modify Canada's Christian heritage into something it is not and will never be. As individuals, my wife and I number among our friends and acquaintances people who pray at the altars of Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity as well as those who profess no religion. Each is a Canadian and none accepts the idiocy that the grinches are promoting. I am reminded of protesters who gather to protest something just to protest something; often, there is no purpose other than to disrupt the lives of ordinary, law-abiding citizens who want nothing more than to be left in peace to get on with their lives. I know whereof I speak. In an earlier time, I, along with hundreds of others, was subjected to the rankings of a mob that knew not what they were protesting but were, simply, protesting something. I put the current politically correct grinches in that same bracket of idiocy.
Now to something more pleasant. As stated, Canada is a vast country; unfortunately, too few Canadians have taken the time or have been afforded the opportunity to travel throughout the land. I place myself among the more fortunate of Canadians; I have travelled this country from centre to west, from west to east, from east to west, from south to north by train, plane and automobile several times. The journeys were great and the people and places along the route simply wonderful. Is there anything more awe-inspiring that to look up at the soaring, snow-capped peaks of the mighty Rockies; or to marvel at the flatness of Saskatchewan as it goes on to a horizon never reached; to feel the vastness of Hudson Bay and to see the thousands of Canada Geese as they pass over Churchill situated north of the tree line; or to gasp as the majesty of the Route of the Superior as it clings to the rocks on its way as it skirts Lake Superior; or to sink into the history that is Nova Scotia? These and a hundred others are the memories I have of my travels across this vast land. Those travels were done by automobile and train; from the air, when there is no cloud cover, Canada takes on a different hue. As one looks down on the mountain peaks, a sense of meekness takes hold; over the Prairies, the terrain much resembles a patchwork quilt; across Ontario the lakes shimmer as the sun's rays strike them obliquely; the woodlands of Eastern Canada reveal the forests that were once the strength of that part of Canada. Oh, what a glorious country! It will remain a glorious country only if we repel the idiocy of the politically correct, non-Christian grinches.
I am not prepared to let the politically correct, non-Christian grinches steal my Christian-based country from me; I am prepared to fight with every fibre in my body to thwart them and to bring them to submission.
In conclusion: It is CHRISTMAS; long may it remain such in Canada!
Bob Orrick is a private tutor of English grammar, literature, poetry and Canadian history to off-shore youngsters. His pupils hail from such places as Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Venezuela. He was previously in international marketing, was a ministerial assistant to a provincial cabinet minister, spent a few years as a reporter then editor of a community newspaper and enjoyed a career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
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